Through the Looking Glass
by Jinxed-Wood
Summary: One week was all it took for the lines to be redrawn...


When she got the call a week later, she couldn't believe it when she heard his voice on the phone."Tyler, is it really you?"

He laughed down the phone line. "_Yes, it's me, Care._"

"Where are you? Is it safe to call?" Caroline asked.

"_I'm using a burner phone just in case_," he said. "_And I'm here, in Mystic Falls – Care, I think I may have found a way to come home. Can you meet me? I'm at the_ _Salvatore's place._"

Her heart thumped in her chest, excitement and fear struggled inside her. "Don't move a muscle, I'll be right there," she said, grabbing her car keys.

* * *

He stood in the middle of the room, staring at her as if he wasn't really sure she was there and, for just a moment, when Caroline rushed into his arms and held him, the world seemed perfect again… and then Hayley stepped out from the doorway.

Caroline stiffened. "Tyler, what the hell is she doing here?"

"_She_ has a name," Hayley said dryly.

"She had better shut up or she'll find out how well a _werewolf_ recovers from a snapped neck," Caroline shot back.

Hayley rolled her eyes. "Tyler, keep your girlfriend on a leash, will you?"

"Hayley, you're not helping," Tyler said.

Caroline felt something squeeze inside her as his arms fell from around her waist. She watched the interplay between them. "You've g_ot _to be kidding me." she said flatly. "You're working with _her_?"

"It's a long story," Tyler said tiredly.

"it's been a week, how long can it be? Try an abridged version," Caroline said, crossing her arms.

"She had her reasons, can we leave it at that?"

"_Reasons_, Tyler, really?" Caroline said. "Attila the Hun had reasons, Klaus has _reasons, y_ou're going to have to do better than that!"

"Caroline, we don't have time for this," Tyler said. "Our window of opportunity is only a few days and Silas said-"

"_Silas!_" She couldn't believe this was happening. "You're working with Silas now?"

"Hayley said-"

Caroline cut him off. "Hayley is the lying bitch who snapped my neck and sold your pack out to Klaus so that Silas could have his precious sacrifice, or have you forgotten that little detail? She can't be trusted, Tyler."

"Care, I know it's a lot to ask but we can bring them all back, the pack, Mom, _everyone_. I can make it right."

Despite herself, Caroline felt a moment of pity as she saw the hope in Tyler's eyes. She didn't want to be the one who crushed it. "He's lying, Tyler, he gets into peoples heads, makes them see what he wants them to see. It's one of the oldest vampire tricks in the book, except Silas is so old he can control what people experience even when they're awake."

"No," Hayley said. "That's not true. I saw them, I saw my parents… and you saw the pack and your Mother, remember?"

Caroline watched as Tyler as he struggled with truth, the pain and loss visible on her face. Why did it have to be her that had to do this? "Tyler," she said softly. "Jeremy was there when Bonnie saw her Grams. He saw nothing. You know what that means."

"That could have changed since he became a Hunter," Tyler said. "He mightn't be able to seem them anymore – the only way to know for certain is to try."

"Or you could try trusting me," Caroline said tentatively.

Hayley snorted. "Easy for you to say, Klaus didn't kill your family. He didn't touch a pretty blonde hair on your head, did he?"

Caroline flinched at the words. "Stay out of this. This is between Tyler and me."

"But it isn't, Care," Tyler said quietly. "Both Hayley and I-"

"Oh no – no, no, no, no, no, no," Caroline said. "I'm not going to sit here and listen to what Hayley thinks anymore. I'm not going to give her the opportunity to stab me in the back twice. Call me when you realise that too." She turned away, not believing she was doing this even as she headed for the door but enough was enough. She loved Tyler and, if she thought for a moment this plan would work, she'd help in a flash, but she wasn't going to risk her life on a plan devised by someone she didn't trust.

"Wait, Caroline, don't go - we need you! We need to distract Klaus-"

It was the last straw, she whirled on her feet. "What can I say, Tyler? I'd tell you to move onto plan B but it's pretty obvious you don't even have a plan A yet…at least, not one that doesn't involves me putting my life on the line."

Tyler stumbled back. "Care, you know that if I thought he'd hurt you, I'd never ask you to do this."

"Seriously? Are you suffering from amnesia? You do remember that little incident last week when he stabbed me in the stomach and then bit me?"

"But he didn't go through with it, Care," Tyler said sharply. "And we both know he never will."

"It's Klaus, Tyler, there's no such thing as never, especially if you get him angry enough – and you fully intend to get him really, really angry, don't you? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but this time you're going to have to come up with another distraction."

The room blurred as she fled. She needed to get some air, and get way from that bitch Hayley before she really did snap her neck. She escaped into the woods, not stopping until she knew she was out of earshot of the Guesthouse. Never before had she felt so angry with Tyler, how could he do this to her again - trust someone else's word over hers? She was beginning to think it was some sort of pack thing. He was the same way with Jules.

Which meant that she never really stood a chance, Caroline thought sadly, her eyes filling with tears.

"Caroline?"

It was Stefan. Furiously, she wiped her eyes. There was no way she was going to let him see her cry. "Hey," she said, as he came into view.

He stopped and eyed her, head tilted. "What happened?" he asked.

She couldn't help herself, she laughed. "Have you got a few hours."

He smiled. "That depends, is there a drink in it for me?"

* * *

An hour later, Caroline was waiting impatiently for Stefan to say something as he stared into his glass of bourbon.

"Well," she said. "What do think?"

"I think Silas will kill Klaus if he can and he won't give a damn if every single one of his bloodline dies along with him," Stefan said quietly.

"Exactly!" Caroline exclaimed. "You've got to help me convince Tyler. Come on!" She hopped up from her chair but Stefan caught her hand.

"Caroline," he said softly. "If Tyler was going to listen to anyone, it was you, and that didn't work. Remember how he reacted the last time we tried to talk him out of this? And that was before Klaus killed Carol."

Oh yes, she remembered. "He knows better this time," she said.

"He should have known better last time," Stefan told her. "I think it's the werewolf in him. Remember what you said about the hybrid pack submitting to him when he gave them that ultimatum?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Caroline said.

"Well…" Stefan sighed, before going on, "You've got two alpha hybrids in the same town, both in love with the same girl-"

"Oh _please._"

"-and _both _wanting to prove their dominance." Stefan continued on. "The trouble is, Klaus doesn't want to alienate you so while he threatens and blusters and picks outliers off the edges, he doesn't actually go in for the kill. Meanwhile, Tyler's instincts are overriding his good sense, pushing him to challenge Klaus..." He trailed off as Caroline slumped back into her seat.

"My life's like a holiday special on National Geographic," she muttered.

Stefan smiled. "Well, I suggest you order another drink because you're going to like the next thing I say even less."

Caroline eyed him. "Spit it out."

"We're going to have to stop him and something tells me that asking nicely isn't going to cut it."

"Oh God," she reached for Stefan's bourbon and drank it down in one gulp. Stefan raised his hand for another round before continuing.

"We have to stop Silas. You know as well as I, he will kill us if he gets the chance… and we're going to need back-up."

"Back-up?" Caroline echoed. "You mean Damon?"

"Not Damon." Stefan gave her a long look and Caroline let out a small whine. So sue her, it was a long day.

"oh, just kill me now."

* * *

She couldn't believe this was happening. How the hell was this happening?

"Drink, love?" Klaus asked, amusement dancing in his eyes. "I have a rather nice bottle of champagne in the fridge-"

"Bourbon on the rocks," Caroline said. This was so unfair on _so_ many levels, she had begun to lose count.

"Seems you've already made her turn to hard liquor, Nik," Rebekah drawled.

"Play nice, Bekah," Klaus said. "We're all on the same side now, remember?"

"Where have I heard_ that _before?"

"I think we're all agreed that Silas coming to town is in nobody's interest," Stefan said.

"Quite true, Stefan," Klaus said. "And with young Tyler on his side, we may lose our home advantage."

"My thoughts exactly," Stefan said. "Which is why we need to find out what their plan is and stop it before it comes to fruition."

"And how do you propose doing that?" Caroline asked, stiffening warily as Klaus and Stefan exchanged a knowing look. That was _never _good.

Klaus smirked as he held out her drink. Suspiciously, she took a sip.

"It seems we're in need of a certain blonde distraction," he said, as the fiery liquid ran down her throat.

She spluttered, oh no, he did_ not _just say that.

"Another drink, Caroline?" Rebekah asked archly.

* * *

"I'd knew you'd come around, Care," Tyler said, cupping her face. "You're always there for me."

The guilt gnawed inside her but she forced the words through her lips. "So what's the first step," she asked.

"We've already taken care of the first part. Hayley has managed to stop the vervein from entering the town's water supply."

Well, at last, she would be able to wash at home again. Traipsing over to the Salavatore's every day to get a shower was becoming old. Oh, to have their own well source at home… all the same, it did seem a bit suspect.

"Why does he need to get rid of the vervain from the water supply?" she asked. "Wouldn't stopping Klaus from using compulsion work in our favour?"

"It's more complicated than that," he said, and Caroline felt her temper rise. She took a deep breath.

"Then why don't you explain it, Tyler," she said, not able to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"All you need to know is that we need to distract him tomorrow evening. Tell him you want to meet for a drink or something. Just make sure you get him out of the house." Tyler said. He only just stopped shy of patting her on the head and asking her to be a good girl. Caroline wondered if this was a good time to remind him her SAT scores far outstripped his… perhaps not.

So she smiled and nodded, and wondered why she didn't feel as guilty as she did a few moments before.

* * *

In the end, she couldn't help but wonder how her life could change so drastically so fast. The next night was a bloodbath, the driveway outside Klaus's house strewn with dead townspeople. Hayley's body was in the ballroom but Tyler was still alive.

And burning with hate.

I'm going to kill you, Caroline," he promised as Klaus dragged his bound body away. "There'll be nowhere for you to hide."

"Oh Tyler, Tyler," Klaus said. "Surely by now you realise it's foolish to rely on false hope – you're never going to leave this house alive, don't you know that?"

A part of her still wanted to plead for mercy, beg for Tyler's life, but the words stuck in her throat. She found her coat and slowly headed for the door as she realised Stefan wasn't going to be leaving with her; he was getting reacquainted with Rebekah again.

The gravel in the driveway crunched softly under her feet and, while the front of Klaus's house was well lit, she didn't doubt for a moment she was being watched. Although whether it was one of Klaus's lackeys or Silas's remained to be seen.

"Going so soon, love?" said Klaus's voice as she opened her car door. His hand settled on the handle, holding it ajar as she sat in, and she refused to let her surprise show as she glared up at him. He stared down at her with a driven intensity that never failed to make her unsure of herself. She could never make up her mind whether he was mentally stripping her soul or stripping her clothes off; maybe a little bit of both. She looked away.

"No appeals for clemency, Caroline?" he asked lightly.

"Would there be any point?" she asked.

"No," he admitted. "Although I must admit I'm curious as to why you haven't attempted it. Has true love faded?"

She could hear the bitterness in his voice, could feel the echo inside her. "Not now, Klaus," she said softly. "Can we play this game another time."

"Ah, but that's the thing, Caroline, this was never a game to me."

Caroline sighed. "It's not a game to Tyler, either," she said. "He meant everything he said in there."

"And you want to live." His voice said, softening. It had been a while since she's heard that gentle lilt to his voice…since the day of the Winter Festival. She had missed it, she realised. Biting her lip, she looked up at him. The angles of his face were carved out in shadows, his eyes hooded as he looked down at her.

"Yes, I want to live," she admitted.

"Well, then, I guess we'll have to work on that. I'll see you tomorrow, Caroline, we can go over our strategy to end Silas. Ask the Bennet witch to come with you. I have a funny feeling I know what Tyler promised Silas."

"And what's that?" asked Caroline, not bothering to keep the challenge out of his voice. Was he going to pat her on the head too?

He smiled knowingly. "His gravestone, of course," he said, as he shut the car door. "Drive safely, sweet Caroline, we'll need you bright eyed and sharp tomorrow."

Caroline watched him strut back to the house, wondering how he could appear to be so cocky and so alone at the same time. A gift, she thought, snorting as she started the engine. "I'm not that easily seduced," she reminded herself.

He turned midstep and laughed. That damned Hybrid hearing.

**FINIS**


End file.
